Don't Look Back
by EmMacca-Potter
Summary: Katie Caldwell, a halfblood from America, moves to London because of her mom's job with the Ministry. Shy and bookish, she vows to turn over a new leaf when starting her 5th year at Hogwarts. Will she be able to? *Crappy summary, I know. AU*
1. Katie's Letter

**A/N: Okay, so this is my first ever HP fan fiction, so please bear with me if it sucks. Also, it's going to be sort of (well, really) AU; meaning that even though it's taking place during Book 5, there isn't going to be much going on with Voldy and whatnot. Oh, and the only characters that belong to me are Katharine/Katie and her mom. I'm borrowing the rest.**

The envelope arrived at the tiny, cramped apartment (or, flat, as they called it in England) that Katharine and her mother shared on a hot and sticky summer evening. The windows had been thrown open wide in an attempt to let in any traces of a breeze, but there were none.

Katharine's mother had been transferred to Britain with the Department of Magic and Muggle Cooperation. They'd moved to London from the US only several months before. Katharine's dad was a Muggle, and had been killed by Voldemort when he was last in power. She was only a baby then, and didn't remember much about him, other than that she had his hair; a wavy, mousy brown.

She inherited more from her mother though. She too, was a witch, and had attended the Salem Witches Institute, in Salem Massachusetts. She also had most of her mother's features; they were both short, with round faces and light brown almond shaped eyes.

The similarities stopped there though. Katharine was quiet, shy, and would rather spend her time alone with a book than socialize; she'd had a small circle of friends back in the States, but had been having trouble making friends in London. "Maybe if you stopped reading all the time, and actually did something, you'd make friends," her mother would say. Katharine hated to hear it, but she knew it was the truth. She hated being so painfully shy.

Katharine and her mother had begun to make dinner for themselves, when a tawny owl swooped through the open window, making Katharine jump considerably.

"What's that?" she asked, still slightly in shock. She was used to getting owl post, but something was different about this envelope. It was rather large, and something was written on its front in neat cursive.

"Looks like your Hogwarts letter, Katie," Katharine's mother answered, calling her by her nickname.

"I get to go to school here then?" she inquired, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course you do! Did you really think I was going to keep you locked up in here till you're of age?" her mother replied, untying the letter from the owl's leg.

_Miss Katharine Caldwell, Flat 3120, 21 Baker Street, London_, the envelope read.

Katharine tore the envelope open. The letter read:

_Dear Miss Caldwell,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1; you will be placed in year 5. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_ Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress_

"Isn't July 31st tomorrow?" Katharine asked her mother.

"You'd better send an owl Katie," her mother replied, smiling.

Katharine practically ran from the kitchen to her tiny bedroom, leaving her mother to finish the cooking. This was her chance to start over, to leave her shy, bookish self behind, and become the person she'd always wanted to be; someone who was outspoken and wasn't afraid to be herself.

She quickly found a piece of parchment and a quill, and scrawled a quick message: _Expect me at King's Cross on September 1__st__, Professor. I can't wait! – Katie_ She liked the way her mother's nickname for her sounded.

Katie emerged from her room, grin still plastered on her face. The owl Professor McGonagall had sent was still perched on the kitchen window; she retied the letter, and sent the owl off. Tomorrow, she was going to turn over a new leaf.

**Tell me what you think! Even if you hate it, just review! It'd mean everything to me, since this is my first HP fic.**


	2. Awkward Introductions

**A/N: Sorry about not posting anything in forever; I've been busy. But I just watched Goblet of Fire, and that got rid of my writer's block. Oh, and before I forget, JK owns, I'm just here to borrow everything but Katie.**

Katie had tried, several times, to make herself look presentable for her first day at Hogwarts. All attempts had failed though; her usually wavy hair had chosen to frizz instead this morning, much to her dismay.

"Katie!" her mother called. "The train leaves in 15 minutes!" Running her fingers through her hair one last time (it still frizzed, unfortunately), Katie grabbed her trunk, and ran down the stairs to the fireplace.

"Remember sweetheart," her mother said as she took a handful of sparkling dirt from the flowerpot on the mantle. "There's nothing for you to be worried about. Just do well in school. And try to make some friends," she continued with a chuckle. She then checked her watch. "Oh, you'd better get going!"

Katie threw the dirt into the fireplace, and the embers turned a bright green. "Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine," she assured her mother. And with a shout of "King's Cross, between platforms 9 and 10!" she was off.

* * *

The sensation was strange at first; everything rushing past her in a huge blur. But the feeling subsided after a moment, and she fell onto what felt like pavement. The impact of her landing had caused her to let go of her trunk, and its contents were now lying messily on the ground beside her.

Before she could worry about feeling embarrassed, Katie got herself up and brushed off her robes. It was then she realized how stupid she really looked. She hurriedly began to gather her books, hoping no one noticed. The station looked rather busy, thankfully…

"Look at the little first year!" a male voice from behind her cried.

"Ronald! You're a prefect now! Help the poor thing for God's sake!" a female voice scolded. After some hesitation, Katie saw someone crouch down to help her out of the corner of her eye. Before they could lay even a finger on any of her books, she stood up.

"I-I don't need any help, but thanks," Katie said, trying to sound confident.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about dear," a plump, smiling redheaded woman replied. "Ronald was only trying to be a _gentleman_." She gave the gangly boy standing next to her a hard nudge. His hair was a shocking red, like his mother's, except it was short, and fell into his eyes a bit. He was a whole two heads taller than Katie; she had to crane her neck up significantly to make eye contact.

"Right, _Ron _a gentleman," another redhead quipped. This one looked older, maybe a year or so. He had a twin, it seemed, and they both wore matching grins.

"Piss off, Fred," the younger boy snapped. "If you hadn't spotted, I'm Ron Weasley," he said with a smile. Katie let out a small giggle, and smiled back. "That's my mum," (he motioned to the plump woman) "my brothers, Fred and George," (the twins bowed exaggeratedly) "and my sister, Ginny." (a younger girl with darker red hair waved to Katie)

"I'm Hermione Granger," said a brown haired girl with eyes to match. "Ron _rudely _didn't introduce us." She shot Ron a rather intimidating glare.

"I'm Harry," said a boy with messy black hair, and emerald green eyes. He was shorter than Ron, but still taller than Katie. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, revealing a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Katie's mouth fell open slightly. Harry Potter, _the _Harry Potter, was actually speaking to her!

"Oh, yeah. That," Harry said nonchalantly, as if talking about the weather.

"I'm Katie, by the way," Katie said, feeling dumb for taking this long to introduce herself properly.

Mrs. Weasley checked her watch. "Come along now dearies, you don't want to miss the train!"

The Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione all walked up to the brick pillar between platforms 9 and 10, and just leaned causally against it.

"You too sweetheart," Mrs. Weasley said to Katie. Katie simply gave her a confused look.

"She's a first year Mum, she doesn't know," George sighed.

"Um, I'm not a first year," Katie explained. "I'm a fifth year, actually. I moved here from the States over the summer."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Oh, you _have _to tell me what it's like in America! I've always wanted to go!"

"Enough chatter girls!" Fred cried, sounding uncannily like his mother. "Allow me to demonstrate." And with that, the redhead simply leaned a little further into the pillar, and vanished.

"Show off," Katie heard Ron mutter under his breath.

They all did the same as Fred, and the next thing Katie knew, they were standing in front of a magnificent steam engine with the words "Hogwarts Express" on the side in fancy cursive.

"Now boys, don't be causing any sort of trouble this year," Mrs. Weasley said to the twins. "And Ronald, remember to behave like a prefect. Although, I'm sure Hermione will keep you in line." The train whistle blew, and Mrs. Weasley shooed the group off. "Harry, Hermione, have a lovely term. You too Katie," she said as the train was about to pull away. So, everything may not have gone completely has Katie had planned, but she had a feeling she was going to love Hogwarts.

**And there you have it! Chapter 2! Please review, it would mean absolutely everything to me. (: **


	3. False Alarm

**A/N: Sorry these updates have been so random; I had midterms and I was really busy (again). I'm not abandoning you guys, I promise. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! Oh, just to clarify, I don't own HP; if I did, would I be writing fanfic?**

Katie had boarded the train with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny; the twins had run off with another seventh year boy before the train left King's Cross. She was now searching for a compartment with Harry and Ginny; Ron and Hermione had gone to the one for prefects by themselves.

Ginny stopped them at a compartment towards the back of the train. Inside, a girl with long, frazzled blonde hair and big blue eyes was reading some type of magazine, concentrating deeply. Across from her was a rather chubby boy with dark hair and slightly crooked teeth; he was tightly clutching a tall potted plant, stroking its leaves lovingly. Ginny rapped lightly on the glass door, and the boy jumped, almost knocking the plant over.

"Hello Ginny, hello Harry," the blonde girl said dreamily, looking up from her magazine. "Who's your friend?"

"Luna, this is Katie," Ginny replied. "She's in Harry and Neville's year."

"You must be new. I've never seen you around," the boy said suddenly.

"I just moved to London actually, from the States. My mom works for the Ministry," Katie explained.

"Daddy says the Ministry should go under any day now, with Fudge as Minister," Luna said, speaking to no one but herself.

Feeling slightly awkward, Katie took a seat between Harry and Ginny.

"So…Katie," Neville said, breaking the silence. "What house are you in?"

"I haven't been sorted yet," Katie answered. "Um, what are the houses?" she asked, feeling dumb.

"Well, there's Gryffindor…that's the house me, Harry, and Ginny are in. It's supposedly where the bravest are placed. Then there's Ravenclaw-"

"Which I'm in," Luna cut in. "It's where the brains of Hogwarts go."

"Then there's Hufflepuff," Neville continued. "Everyone thinks they're a big joke, duffers, you know? But last year, during the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory – he was a Hufflepuff – was one of the Hogwarts champions!"

Katie noticed that Harry winced at the mention of this Cedric boy.

"Wait, he _was _a Hufflepuff?" Katie wondered, confused.

Harry cut in to the conversation. "He…he was murdered by Vol – You-Know-Who – at the end of last term. I saw it happen."

Katie could tell that Harry had a hard time speaking about what had happened. Ginny seemed to notice too, and she changed the subject.

"So…go on Neville. Tell her about Slytherin," Ginny said with a slightly imploring tone.

Neville's eyes filled with fear as he began to explain. "Most Dark wizards were Slytherins. You-Know-Who was one too…" Neville's voice trailed off obviously lost in thought. He gave a small shudder, and Ginny reached over and patted his knee.

"I bet you'd be a Ravenclaw," Ginny said, changing the subject yet again. "When your trunk spilled, I saw all those books you had."

Katie blushed as scarlet as Ginny's hair. Harry nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the train grew dark. Katie could hear screams coming from other compartments. The last thing she saw before it grew pitch black was Harry taking his wand from his jeans pocket. Everyone else was obviously confused and scared; the voices of prefects could be heard, shouting and trying to keep order. There was a loud crash; Katie shrieked.

"My Mimbulus Mimbletonia!" Neville cried. Katie could feel something sticky – and rather smelly, to be honest – on her skin.

As suddenly as the darkness came, it left. It seemed everyone had breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that there hadn't been a dementor attack after all; just a prolonged trip through a tunnel.

"Oh," Harry said, putting his wand back.

Katie looked down to examine herself; her new robes were covered in a green slime, as was virtually every other part of her body. Harry, Neville, Ginny, and Luna all looked the same.

"It's stinksap…it's what comes from the Mimbulus Mimbletonia," Neville said with a sad sigh. "My gram gave me it for my birthday. It's a really rare plant…"

Hermione came running to their compartment, a harried look on her face.

"Are you all alright?" she asked. "We thought it was another dementor attack."

"We're fine," Luna replied distantly.

"But my plant isn't," Neville said, clearly discouraged.

"Don't worry Neville, I've got it," Hermione said. "_Scourgify."_

And with that, the green slime disappeared.

"Harry," Hermione said. "The prefect meetings are over with. I think Ron wants you to join us. You can come too, Katie, if you'd like."

"I'd love to," Katie replied.

* * *

"Bloody hell Harry!" Ron cried. "I dunno how Percy did it without going completely mad!"

Hermione simply rolled her eyes. "So, Katie," she said. "How are you liking things so far?"

"It's been…interesting, to say the least. Luna was…quirky. And Neville's…a bit clumsy, but really easy to get along with," Katie replied.

Hermione laughed. "If you think things are interesting now, wait until you get to Hogwarts!"

**A/N: It would mean everything to me if you guys kept reviewing! Expect another chapter sometime this week. (:**


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